A Cumbrian MP has met with senior NHS leaders over the decline in dental care in the county.
Tim Farron, who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he challenged the NHS over the crisis when he met them in Parliament.
House of Commons data has revealed that just a third of all adults – 33.4 per cent – in Cumbria have seen a dentist in the last two years – a huge drop from 2015 when that number was 49.7 per cent.
Meanwhile just less than half (49.8 per cent) of children in the county have seen a dentist in the past 24 months – falling from 61.3 per cent in 2016.
According to the NHS website, the nearest dental practice taking on NHS patients to the South Lakes is in Blackburn – an 80-mile round trip. Elsewhere in Cumbria, the majority of dentists are not accepting new NHS patients; a few are accepting NHS patients only if referred to by another dentist and several have not updated the NHS at all.
Mr Farron said: “NHS services across Cumbria are in a state of crisis, and sadly dental care is no different. Too many people are having to pay money they don’t have for care that is no longer provided by the NHS thanks to years of underinvestment and poor quality contracts.
“Two thirds of adults in our county haven’t seen a dentist in the last two years. Perhaps more damagingly, half of all children haven’t seen a dentist either, which is setting us up for widespread long-term problems and the need for more care further down the line.
“The Government need to sort out NHS contracts or even more people will be forced to turn to dangerous DIY dentistry.”
Cumberland Council has agreed to back a motion brought by the Liberal Democrats to contact the Government and the NHS urgently about the dentistry crisis in the area.
It was also agreed that a review would be undertaken by the authority’s health scrutiny committee.
